Friday, August 29, 2008

Many have been said about road accidents and catastrophes. Its devastating effects to the victims and their families can be life changing and much can result to loss of lives. More so, these incidents can be more painful if, after following all the necessary precautions in driving, you still get hurt because of someone’s neglect or imprudence.

Such things are true in vehicle chain accidents that happen mostly on roads with dense traffic conditions. These incidents are also very common during late night or dawn travel when road visibility is too low and you may not clearly see other vehicles approaching.

Just like the pile-up that occurred last August 23 involving a tractor-trailer and six other vehicles. The road accident that happened twenty minutes past midnight in Sta. Ana I-5 Freeway caused seven people injured.

Although the chain accident did not result to fatalities, this should be a wake up call to every motorist to be aware and to follow the necessary steps in at least avoiding fatal crashes. Drivers should abide by the traffic rule and regulations. They should be prudent enough not to cause damages to other people and their families.

Pile-up accidents like this may also be prevented if the authorities are completely effective in implementing the road rules. They should also make sure that all our roadways are well lighted especially at night and do their best to put appropriate warning devices particularly in areas where accidents frequently happen.

Finally, for the victims and their families, you must uphold your rights and pursue the necessary charges against the party liable for your sufferings. Doing this will give you a chance of obtaining justice and getting suitable recoveries. Appointing the aid of a personal injury lawyer can be a great help then.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

It isn’t surprising to hear news about drowning accidents across California and in the US, this season.

Now, the threat common among children 1 to 4 years of age has added more venues of risk, that is, abandoned real properties or houses which have pool on it, in the suburbs and posh residential communities.

In the City of Rialto for instance, there are more than 800 abandoned or uninhabited properties. As of date, authorities have received about 155 calls for abandoned pools. Safety measures and information drive campaign are on their way to prevent future accidents and increase awareness of the danger that these abandoned swimming pools might create.

Even without this new threat, swimming pool accidents are bad enough. Drowning-related deaths in children has risen a staggering 89% percent only in the span of three months – from May to August of this year and cases after cases of swimming pool accidents are filed in court.

Pin pointing liability in swimming pool accidents in California is relatively harder than in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Utah, among others. This is primarily due to the fact that California, in effect, unsubscribe to the doctrine of attractive nuisance.

This is a doctrine in tort law which holds property owners and operators liable to children who drown or figured in near-drowning or any related accidents in pools that they own or operate – even if such children were trespassers to the property.

In lieu of the attractive nuisance doctrine, California replaced it with certain property condition standards and hold property owners or operators liable only by applying rules of foreseeable danger. Consequently, some may say that it is quite harder to prove swimming pool accidents liability in California than in other states.

But not quite, it is indicia of negligence if the pool is unguarded or does not contain necessary barriers, natural or artificial to prevent children from having easy access on the pool – once negligence is determined, liability follows.

On one hand, product liability can exist against the manufacturer for defective conditions of pool, or particular features of it, if such were the cause of the accident. It follows the principle of strict liability and it is without regard whether there was negligence on the part of the manufacturer or none – once the product was determined to be defective and caused the accident, liability follows.

Lastly, under premise liability, it would suffice to prove that the property owner was negligent in not keeping the property in a safe condition and that the accident took place therein. In sum, we can still prove liability in swimming pool accidents in California using the principles of negligence, product liability and premise liability.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The CBS News reported a motorcycle accident that claimed the life of Los Angeles County fire captain John Ellis. He was fatally injured when his motorcycle collided with a pick up truck at 70th Street West and Avenue I in Lancaster at about 9pm, Saturday.

Report said that the 42-year old driver of the Chevrolet pickup apparently pulled into the intersection in the path of the motorcycle, which then stuck the pickup.

The driver of the pick up either may have not seen the motorcycle or he may have been negligent.

Capt. John Ellis of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, a Quartz Hill resident was taken to Antelope Valley Hospital where he was declared dead.

It was a rather unfortunate accident which resulted to untimely and wrongful death of Capt. Ellis. As illustrated by this case, more than 80% of motorcycle accident was said to have been not due to fault of motorcyclist.

Accident of this sort happens because drivers in sedans and other four-wheeled cars tend to undermine motorcycles. They sometimes forget or totally ignore the proper road provision due these motorcycles. Other factors may include defective conditions of roads, poorly lit, dangerous curves, intersections, mechanical problems, etc.

But whatever may be the actual cause, it is evident that we can pin point the blame to the other driver in this motorcycle accident.

Condolences to the family of the Capt. John Ellis and may they not forget that the law is in their side.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

A recent drowning accident claimed the life of a 10-year old girl while swimming in a pool in Huron, California. Report says that incoming sixth grader Janet Ramirez was with group of children from the Keenan Recreation Center who went for a swim.

The child’s parents say she didn’t know how to swim but they permitted her to go anyway because they found out that Janet is going under the care of one of the center’s staff. The child and her group went to the Chestnut Park Pool.

The pool is manned by four lifeguards in duty.

What is absurd is that the accident occurred without someone knowing how it exactly happened. Some says another child threw the child in the water. If this were true, the lifeguards on duty would have known from the commotion that a child is drowning.

But the lifeguards were unaware of the drowning accident until children began pointing at the bottom of the pool. It was only then when they saw the child lying submerged in the water that they realized somebody was drowned.

In accidents such as this, we may point the blame to the child’s parents for letting the child into a swimming spree without them. But that would only add absurdity to this already absurd incident.

It should be noted that the parents allowed Janet only because they were in a belief that their child is accompanied by responsible adults.

It is clear in this case that the pool management, through their life guards, four at that, failed to exercise prudence to insure the safety of their guests/customers.

One can only surmise how in the world a ten-year old girl drowns under the nose of four lifeguards – if they haven’t been negligent.

Negligence is a sin under the law, especially if it results to a drowning accident such as this.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Victims of bus accidents may find it difficult to pursue their claims on their own. Accident laws are often complicated and pursuing claims would require the skills and experience of someone who is familiar with it, more preferably lawyers.

Because accidents of this nature often involve several people – mostly injured passengers and other motorists - obtaining a claim from the responsible parties is more complicated than usual.

According to the article, “Bus Accidents Complicate Your Life”, posted on July 27, 2008, bus accidents may happen due to several factors such as driver’s negligence, road and weather conditions, among others. Finding fault in a bus accident is another thing.

Parties responsible for one’s injuries in a bus accident may include the following:

• State or Local Governments - the cause of the accident was negligence of the driver or of a city worker performing his employment duties.

• Government entities may also be responsible for dangerous road conditions that cause the bus to crash.

• School Districts and School Boards - The school board may be liable to any children involved in a school bus accident or crash that could have been prevented through the creation and enforcement of reasonable safety guidelines.

• Affiliated Cruise Lines and Tour Operators - Owners and drivers of these buses can be held liable for bus driver negligence in a bus accident. When a bus trip is part of a package offered by a tour service, the service itself may be liable for damages to passengers when a bus crash occurs in an affiliated tour bus.

• Bus Driver

• The Bus Company - The bus company's actions in hiring unqualified drivers, maintenance people and other personnel, or in negligently training or supervising them may also contribute to the cause of a bus accident.

• Drivers of Other Vehicles and their employers - Owners and drivers of other cars, trucks and other vehicles may be held responsible for bus accident injuries caused by negligent or reckless driving. A driver's employer may also be held liable for a bus accident if the driver was operating the bus while performing work duties.

• Manufacturers of the Bus and/or its Parts - A bus manufacturer can be held responsible for defective bus parts that may have caused the bus accident could be liable for the injuries to the bus passengers.

After you have been injured in a bus accident, finding an attorney who will help you find all potential responsible parties is crucial.

However, in the news posted on July 29, 2008, an accident happened due to a police chase leading to a crash.

According to the reports, the chase began after a simple traffic violation in Ventura County. A pursuit transpired leading the police officers to the Interstate 405. During the course of the hot pursuit, the suspect’s car collided with another vehicle but did not bother to stop until the police officers were led to a drug store where he was apprehended.

What started to be a simple misdemeanor ended in a complicated felony. Should the driver had stopped, the arrest ended there.

The report failed to state what traffic violation did the driver made but to my mind, the apprehended driver was not just into a simple violation. He could have done something graver to have the same reaction as he did.

Well, I can only speculate. But human experience tells us that such reaction could have been triggered by a graver felony. A simple violation could have not ignited to such pursuit then to a crash. Maybe the driver was seen to have other violations like drug use or use of a carnapped vehicle.

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About Me

Rodney Mesriani is the principal partner of Mesriani Law Group (MLG), which has its main office in Los Angeles and satellite offices in Beverly Hills, Van Nuys, Lawndale and Glendale California.

Areas of Practice Mr. Mesriani spent years specializing in many legal areas: Personal Injury and Employment and Labor Law. He is an experienced litigator and a skilled trial attorney.

MLG provides services to those who are in need of adept Los Angeles Personal Injury and Employment lawyers. The firm has already obtained over a hundred million dollars for clients and is renowned for the roster of aggressive, experienced and skilled attorneys.

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Disclaimer:The information contained in this blog is for general information purposes only. All reviews and comments on this site are based on the personal opinion of the writer(s) and are not to be treated as legal advice. The posts made on this site are based on several sources and intended to inform readers of our legal insight and the application of state and federal laws on real-life situations based on factual and relevant events.